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Consumer Survey says: Customers are already being asked to pay way more on airline baggage fees.

The rising fee's of todays travel

What will 2013 (and the approaching fiscal cliff) mean for luggage?”

Sudbury, MA (PRWEB)February 07, 2013

Suitcase.com, a leading seller of high quality suitcases, provides their customers not only with superior products, but also with a voice. Surveys conducted by the group in past years have yielded some interesting results and lead one to ask, “What will 2013 (and the approaching fiscal cliff) mean for luggage?”

In 2011, consumers were not too worried about cost as opposed to quality. Although price was still important to consumers, it was not the complete focus of their luggage purchasing choices.

Among this interest in style and quality, was another interesting factor - concern about prices and baggage fees. Airline baggage fees have always been a problem - no one likes to pay the extra money - but a larger and larger percentage of consumers were actually purchasing their luggage based on the airline fees.
In 2012, Suitcase.com reached even more surprising conclusions. No longer did style determine consumer choice: the weight and size of a piece of luggage mattered more and more to travelers, simply because of what these two factors meant when it came to airline fees. More than 50% of survey respondents said that they were buying new luggage based on price, luggage features/functionality, the size and dimensions of the luggage, and the weight of the luggage. The respondents who were buying based on style, color, and brand numbered below 40%.

With airline fees up for 2013, and the fiscal cliff throwing a dark shadow over the entire American economy, the trend to buy based on size and weight is perfectly understandable.

Airlines now charge for everything. They charge you for watching the in-flight movie, eating one of their meals, and, most importantly for many travelers, checking in a bag. It is not that the airlines can help it, according to many studies. They are struggling to make any profit at all. But travelers just cannot deal with all these extra charges. With some airlines charging even for carry-ons, passengers are desperate to save money. They are willing to take drastic measures to avoid yet another fee. In China, one determined traveler put on seventy different items of clothing, his pockets filled with various batteries, chargers, and thumb drives, because his clothing-filled luggage went over the weight limit.

Since the fiscal cliff is supposed to drive taxes up to a record amount, will airlines be struggling even more? Will their struggles be reflected in their baggage fees?
The survey results from both 2011 and 2012 had reflections not only of what consumers thought about their luggage, but also what they thought about traveling in general. In fact, according to another one of Suitcase.com’s surveys, these two are becoming more and more linked. The inconvenience of traveling with luggage through the airlines means that people are wondering if flying is even an option anymore.

If baggage fees go up yet again, then many airlines may be asking for too much. Customers are already being asked to pay way more than they think they can afford.

Only one thing can be said for certain - results from Suitcase.com’s 2013 survey will definitely be interesting.

Suitcase.com has been around since 1951 and is determined to provide durable, high quality luggage to travelers and consumers around the globe. One of the first to market on a global scale, Suitcase.com is a reliable suitcase retailer dedicated to helping its customers.